of mansfield



Aug. 28, 1928. 1,682,109

IIIIIIIII NG j WW7 @from l Patented Aug. 28, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,682,109 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAH Il?. BOVARD, OF M/ANSFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR. T THE OHIO BRASS GOED' rm, or MANS F/IELD, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

RAIL BONDING.

Application filed. October 31, 1923, Serial No. 671,898. Renewed .Tune 3, 1926.

My invention relates to a method of c onnecting electrical conductors and to electrical connections as such.

The object of my invention is to provide a methodof electrically connecting conductors which will produce a joint which 1s of high electrical value and strong mechanically struction of the parts and the material of` which they are made are important factors. My invention, therefore, resides in the steps hereinafter iset forth and the construction and arrangement of the various parts forming the connection.

flcation.:

Fig. '1 is a side view in elevation of the device which I use in connecting the conductors and shows that side which isplaced to the conductor.

Fig. 2 is an end view'of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top view of one end only of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side view in elevation showing an electricalconnection as produced by my method. Y Fi 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 to better show the specific arrangement of the parts making up an electrical connection.

Fig. 6 is a similar view to that of Fig: 5, showing one method which I use in making the electrical connection shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

As my invention is particularly applicable to the connecting of rags used to conduct current'in electric traction operations, I will dis-k close my invention as applied to the connectin of adjacent rail ends by means of4 what 46 is j own as an electric rail bond.

In the preferred form of bond which I use in connecting the rails I employ body or connecting members 1, and I have shown two members, but one onlycan be used if desired.`

50 To the ends of the members. 1I secure a terminal member 2'which I prefer to form up out of sheet metal by means of stamping and forming dies, as is well known in the art. The terminal member will comprise a ,sleeve portionv 3 vand a recess portion 4. The recess In the drawing accompanying this speci-- portion is the result of the upstanding side wall 5, which, however, is cut away on one face, as shown, for a plication against the rail 6. Whenin position on thevrail, the upstanding wall 5, together with the vface of the rail, forms a closed receptacle so far asl the sidewalls are concerned, but open at the top. A. terminal member is secured to each end of the members 1 with an interposed member 7, and the end of the member 1 may, if desired, project into the recess 4. After the members 1, 2 and 7 have been positioned with respect to each other, the sleeve portion 3 is i formed tightly about the members 1 and 7 thereby securely' holding the parts together 70 by pressure. The sleeve portion 3 bein provided with a slot 8, the rterminal can e secured in place without distorting the shape of the sleeve 3.. This would not be possible if the sleeve were made complete.

I prefer to make themembers 1 of copper due tol its well known high electrical conductivity, and I prefer to make the member 2 of a ferrous `metal as I iind that such metal is not only cheaper than copper, bronze, etc., which might `otherwise be used, but that it also forms a more sec-ure connection with the welding or attaching metal used in securing the bond in position on the rail. The member 7 is preferably composed of copper of thin gauge and protects the member 1 from injury when the terminal member 2 is forced into place. This is especially true when the memers l are composed f a large number of smallfwires as is common practice. The receptacle 4 offers a means for receiving the molten attaching metal for uniting the bond to the rail and the interior surfaceI of the upstandin walls 5 is relatively large and, therefore, o ers a strong mechanical connection with the attaching metal.

The bond as just described'is placed in position with respect to the rail ends as shown in Fig. 4 and the attaching metal may be applied in various ways. I means of holding the bond in place upon the rail as this does not form a part of my invention There are many ways of doing this, as for instance, by means of a U shaped springclip which will engage the rail bond terminal 105 and the opposite rail face, or ithe bond may be held in position by means ofya block of wood laid against it.

FIn Fig. 6 I have shown the application as by means of the electric arc. In this case I 110 I have shown no vthe end of the carbon electrode.

employ a metallic electrode 9, the metal being that which is intended to attach the bond to the rail. The rail and the electrode 9 are connected to theopposite poles of a` source of supply, as for instance, av generator G, and the amount of currentv supplied to the arc is regulated by means of the resistance R. This shows the simplest arrangement for applyin the arc. The proper connections having een made, the electrode 9 is inserted within the recess 4: and contacted with the member 1 and then drawn away slightly thereby forming an arc between the electrode 9 and the member 1. The heat of the arc being very high, approximately 6300 degrees Fahrenheit, it will instantly start fusing the end of the member 1 and also the end of the member 9. The molten metal from the member 9 will dro on to the molten end of the member 1 an vunite therewith.. Simultaneous therewith, the parts surrounding the member 1 will become heated and as the molten metal is deposited within the receptacle and flows into `contact with the face of the rail and inner surface of the walls 5, it will unite therewith. If desired, the arc may also be moved# about so as to engage the surface of the members 6 and 5 Within the confines of the receptacle 4f. The arc is allowed to vplay and the molten metal from the electrode 9 to be deposited until the receptacle is filled with the fused metal from the electrode. When the receptacle 4 is filled with the deposited metal the bond and rail will be securely united together.

Bonds have been made in which the terminal member is provided with a horizontally disposed shelf upon which the deposited attaching metal may repose, but I have found that by turning the horizontal portion upward so as to form a receptacle, that it is an improvement over a bond'with a horizontal shelf.

If desired, the member 9 may consist of a carbon electrode in which case the attaching metal must consist of a separate metallic rod, the end of which-is held in the arc formed at The rod of metal so applied willI be melted, deposited and fused to the members 1, 2 and 6. If it so happens that it is not possible to use the electric arc, the bonds may be applied by means of an oxy acetylene flame which is substituted for that of the electric arc, and the attaching metal will necessarily be applied in the form of a rod of metal, the end of which contacts with the oxy acetylene flame.

The method herein described of connecting electrical joints is, I believe, new and novel although in some respects it approaches what has been done in the prior art, but I find that the upstanding walls 5 are an advantage as they assist in retaining the molten met-al in position and the walls being securely united to the attaching metal, offers a stronger and more secure attachment of the bond to the raily'and where the electric arc is used the upstanding walls tend to protect'the arc from air currents. Bonds have been applied in the prior art by using a carbon mold in which the attaching metal is deposited, but these molds are expensive in that they are not very long lived, and it is necessary to properly adjust them in position With respect to the bond member 1 vbefore the arc can be applied, and when the bond has been applied, practically-the only mechanical connection that the member 1 has with the rail is that which exists between the member 1 and the attaching metal. By forming upon the memberl a permanent metallic recessed terminal, I am not obliged to depend upon the union between the member 1 and the attaching metal for mechanical maintenance of the bond in place, but I also have in addition thereto the very strong attachment between the member 2 and the attaching metal. In my bond there are no expensive carbon molds to wear out and be broken and which require time in carefully adjusting them into position before applying the arc.

The attaching metal may be copper either with or without silicon, boron, phosphorous, etc. which acts as a fluxvor it may be of copper alloyed with a small amount of tin, etc. The terminal member may be made of a casting or a drop forging.

I-Iaving described my method of producing electrical connections and the product thereof, I claim:

1. The method of attaching a rail bond-to a rail, comprising the steps of applying to a lateral surface of a rail a copper conductor having a ferrous terminal member mechanically secured to one end thereof, the terminal member being provided with an upstanding fiange projecting beyond the end of the copper conductor and forming with the surface of the rail a receptacle open at the top and surrounded on all sides, fusing ay copper welding metal to the end face of said conductor, the inner surface of the upstanding portion of said terminal member and the face of said rail, and preventing escape of the molten welding metal at all sides of said receptacle by means ofthe ferrous Walls of said receptacle to permit thefilling of the receptacle with copper in a fused state and at a temperature within said receptacle sufficiently high to fuse the inner side walls of the receptacle and to unite the rail, terminal member and conductor each to the other without permitting escape of the welding metal.

2. The method of connect-ing a rail bond to a rail, comprising the steps of positioning against the face of a rail a ferrous bond terminal member having a conductor secured thereto and having a receptacle therein into which the conductor extends, the receptacle being open at one side and forming with the rail a flux, fusing the surface to which said are is applied and permitting the molten metal from the electrode to form upon the fused surfaces and lill the space between said surfaces, and preventing escape of the fused metal within said rece tacle at all sides of the receptacle by the errous walls thereof, thus permitting' the use of a temperature high enough to fuse the inner surfaces of the Walls of said receptacle while the Welding metal is retained in said receptacle in a fused condition.

3. The method of attachin a rail bond to a rail, comprising the steps o forming a cupshaped receptacle of a rail bond terminal and the surface of a rail with the side and end face of the conductor extending into said receptacle, then fusing a welding metal to the portion of -said bond projecting into said receptacle and to the surface of said rail and the inner wall of said terminal member forming the side walls of said receptacle, at a temperature high enough to fuse the ferrous side wallslof said metal, and preventing escape of the welding metal from the interior of said receptacle on all sides thereof by means of the interposed ferrous side walls of said receptacle.

4. The method ofl attaching to a rail, a

rail bond having a terminal member arranged to form with the face of the rail a receptacle closed on all sides and having a bottom portion substantially normal to the surface of the rail and into which the conductor of the bond extends the receptacle being open at the top, said method comprising the steps of inserting an electrode into the receptacle and forming an are therein which is moved about within the receptacle at the will of the operator and fusinga welding metal to the conductor and the portion of 4the rail and terminal member forming the inner surface of said receptacle at a temperature as high as the fusion point of said terminal member and rail and at the same time holdingthe fused welding metal within said receptacle against escape on all sides of said receptacle by means .-'f

of the terminal member and rail.

In testimony' whereof I ailix my signature.

. WILLIAM P. BOVARD. 

